March  11,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
203 
Tee  vegetable  quartern  are  not  very  fully  occupied  just  now,  though 
all  is  in  readiness  for  sowing  and  p. anting  with  the  various  kinds  that 
are  so  largely  grown.  In  one  of  the  houses  are  thousands  of  young  Pea 
plants — American  Wonder — from  seeds  sown  in  February,  and  which 
will  produce  the  first  pods  of  the  season  later  on.  As  soon  as  large 
enough  and  during  suitable  weather  these  will  be  planted  in  the  open 
ground.  Of  Asparagus  and  Seakale  there  is  abundance,  the  former 
being  forced  by  simply  laying  the  old  stools  beneath  stages  in  the 
vineries,  where  they  are  warm  and  kept  pleasantly  moist.  The  system 
involves  little  labour  and  gives  excellent  results.  After  forcing  the  old 
plants  are  thrown  away.  French  Beans  in  pots  are  very  fine,  but  to  see 
the  vegetable  garden  in  perfection  a  journey  would  need  to  be  made 
much  later  in  the  year.  _ 
A  glance  into  the  fruit  room,  where  are  seen  Apples  in  great  numbers 
and  several  bunches  of  Grapes,  and  we  return  to  partake  of  Mrs.  Fyfe’s 
hospitality,  A  rest  and  the  road  for  the  railway  station  is  started  upon 
to  the  accompaniment  of  a  deluge  of  rain  and  the  howling  of  the  wind 
in  the  trees.  The  morning  was  bright  and  sunny,  the  day  quiet 
and  enjoyable,  the  evening  boisterous  and  uncomfortable,  but1  after 
the  reception  received  and  the  walk  round  the  estate  even  this  could 
be  borne  in  contented  silence. — H.  J.  Weight. 
WALKS  AND  TALKS  IN  KEW  GARDENS. 
A  little  while  ago  Mr.  J.  Gregory  delivered  a  very  interesting  and 
instructive  lecture  on  the  above  suhject,  illustrated  with  dissolving 
views,  to  the  members  of  the  St.  Barnabas  Gardeners’  and  Amateurs’ 
Improvement  Society  at  Sutton,  Surrey.  The  lecturer  first  introduced 
his  audience  to  some  fine  views  of  Kew  Bridge,  The  Green,  main  entrance 
to  the  Royal  Gardens,  thence  to  the  Palms  and  Aroids,  Philodendrons 
and  Monsteras,  all  being  very  well  shown.  Then  followed  a  visit 
to  the  Museum,  with  photographs  of  the  huge  specimens  of  timber 
that  are  to  be  found  there.  Then  he  took  us  to  the  Orchid  house, 
showing  a  magnificent  group  of  Cypripediums.  The  Nympbaea  house 
was  next  illustrated,  and  interesting  information  given  regarding  the 
propagation  and  the  peculiarity  of  flowering  of  the  giant  Water  Lily. 
From  the  large  Cactus  house  we  were  shown  a  specimen  of  one  of 
Nature’s  giants  in  Cereus  giganteus,  which  is  about  6  or  7  feet  of  solid 
succulent  tissue,  and  nearly  a  foot  thick.  This  was  followed  by  pictures 
of  Euphorbia  in  flower  drooping  from  the  roof,  Aloes,  Opuntias,  and 
•others.  On  leaving  this  house  we  were  shown  some  grand  views  of  the 
Great  Lake  with  the  Palm  house  on  the  opposite  side,  which  at  all  times 
of  the  year  is  more  or  less  interesting 
We  were  shown  some  beautiful  pictures  of  Palms,  which  included 
the  Date  (Phoenix  dactylifera),  Cabbage,  and  Cocoa-nut  Palms  ;  also 
Bambusas  and  Musas,  with  here  and  there  a  Vanilla  plant  climbing  in 
tropical  luxuriance. 
From  the  Palm  house  we  were  given  a  view  of  the  unassuming 
building  which  contains  the  splendid  results  of  years  of  untiring 
■energy  of  Miss  Marianne  North,  whose  paintings  of  plants,  for  the 
most  part  painted  in  their  own  native  homes,  are,  to  say  the  least,  grand. 
Tttere  are  some  800  oil  paintings  of  plants  from  various  parts  of  the 
world.  Then  followed  a  visit  to  the  Science  and  Art  Museum,  and  to 
the  economic  plant  house,  where  photos  of  several  varieties  of  the  Citrus 
family  were  shown.  The  cultivation  and  early  history  of  the  Cinchona 
were  next  touched  upon.  This,  in  combination  with  sulphuric  acid,  is 
what  quinine  is  made  from,  which  to  residents  in  hot  and  malarial 
countries  is  an  absolute  necessity. 
Photographs  of  the  Pagoda,  avenues,  rock  garden,  and  other  choice 
corners  of  the  Gardens  brought  to  a  successful  termination  a  most 
pleasant  and  interesting  evening.  Apart  from  the  lecture  were  shown 
some  exquisite  photographs  of  individual  plants  which  I  believe  Mr. 
Gregory  is  making  a  study  of,  the  most  noticeable  oeing  some  trained 
standard  Chrysanthemums,  Narcissi,  Orchids,  and  Spiraeas. — 
W.  H.  Walkek. 
LIVERPOOL  NOTES. 
Presentation  to  Mr.  R.  Pinnington. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  session  of  the  Liverpool  branch  of  the 
National  Amateur  Gardeners’  Association  was  held  in  the  Common  Hall, 
Hackins  Hey,  Liverpool,  on  Thursday  evening  under  the  chairmanship 
of  J.  C.  Glover,  Esq.,  the  newly  elected  President,  there  being  an  excel¬ 
lent  attendance.  The  President,  in  his  opening  remarks,  said  he  would 
Dot  take  up  the  time  of  the  meeting  further  than  to  say  that  reports  had 
been  circulated  to  all  members.  In  tjhis  report,  while  the  Committee 
regret  a  falling  off  in  members,  they  congratulate  themselves  that 
those  who  have  retired  were  the  “drones,”  the  non- workers,  and  that 
those  who  remain  are  taking  an  active  and  intelligent  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  branch. 
The  financial  state  of  the  branch  has  greatly  improved,  thanks  to  the 
energy  displayed  by  the  new  Secretary,  J.  C.  Langley,  Esq.,  and  after 
setting  aside  7  guineas  for  prizes  the  branch  has  a  balance  in  hand  of 
£12  9s.  lid.  to  commence  the  year’s  working — the  largest  balance  they 
had  ever  had.  He  was  glad  to  say  that  quality  of  exhibits  was  on  the 
improving  side,  which  was  to  his  mind  a  matter  of  great  importance, 
as  was  also  their  encouragement  of  junior  members.  He  hoped  they 
would  go  on  and  prosper,  and  help  to  support  the  Association  in  every 
way.  Medals  and  certificates  were  then  presented.  Mr.  A.  Dodd, 
Aintree,  was  awarded  the  silver  medal,  and  Mr.  Arthur  Dale,  Egremont, 
the  bronze  medal. 
A  very  interesting  feature  of  the  meeting  was  the  presentation  by  the 
President  (on  behalf  of  the  members)  of  a  handsome  silver-mounted 
cigar  case  to  Mr.  R.  Pinnington  of  Roby,  Liverpool,  representative  of 
the  Journal  of  Horticulture .  In  making  the  presentation  the  President 
referred  to  the  kindness  shown  to  the  members  by  Mr.  Pinnington  in 
attendance  at  the  meetings,  to  which  he  often  came  at  much  disadvantage 
to  himself,  always  bringing  something  choice  from  the  gardens  under  his 
charge  ;  by  his  useful  advice,  which  he  so  readily  accorded  ;  and  for  the 
valued  reports  from  his  pen  ;  and  he  now  asked  Mr.  Pinnington’s 
acceptance  of  the  gift,  as  a  small  mark  not  only  of  their  appreciation 
but  of  their  esteem  and  friendship.  Mr.  Pinnington  replied  in  a  brief 
but  suitable  manner. 
An  interesting  display  of  plants,  such  as  Cyclamens,  Azalea  mollis, 
Ccelogyne  cristata,  and  Dracaenas  ;  the  prizes  awarded  being  to  Mr. 
Cangley,  Formhy,  for  Tulips  ;iand  certificate  and  special  prize  to  Mr. 
J.  C.  Langley,  for  grand  blooms  of  Calla  asthiopica — a  fine  exhibit. 
To  inaugurate  his  first  year  as  President,  Mr.  Glover  afterwards 
entertained  a  large  number  of  members  to  a  smoking  concert  at  the 
Alexandra  Hotel,  Dale  Street,  where  he  dispensed  hospitalities  in  his 
usual  kind  way,  the  programme  being  of  a  very  high-class  order. 
Mr.  Ardran  and  Mr.  Histed  eulogised  the  services  of  Mr.  Glover  as 
President,  and  with  Mr.  J.  C.  Langley  (Treasurer),  and  Messrs.  J.  M. 
Smyth  and  G.  Gillanders  as  Joint  Secretaries  the  Liverpool  Branch 
ought  to  make  rapid  Strides,  and  be  to  the  fore  in  all  the  good  work  it  is 
trying  to  accomplish.  A  capital  syllabus  for  the  ensuing  session  has 
been  fixed,  and  the  work  that  it  is  proposed  to  carry  out  cannot  but  be 
conducive  to  good.  The  names  of  several  new  members  were  proposed. 
AXES  TO  GRIND. 
I  was  a  very  interested  listener  to  the  admirable  paper  Mr.  G. 
Gordon  read  on  the  evening  of  the  3rd  inst,,  before  the  members  of  the 
Society  of  Arts,  at  their  house  in  the  Adelphi.  Even  the  presence  of 
the  Director  of  Kew,  Mr.  Thi&tleton  Dyer,  as  chairman,  was  insufficient 
to  attract  a  large  attendance,  and  one  could  hardly  help  realising  the 
incongruity  of  dealing  with  such  a  subject,  though  undertaken  by  the 
special  desire  of  the  Society,  in  such  a  locality  as  the  Adelphi. 
Had  the  paper  been  read  before  the  Chamber  of  Agriculture,  or  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society,  or  the  Fruiterers’  Company  one  could  have 
understood  the  nature  of  the  connection  of  the  subject  with  these  bodies. 
Really,  as  dealt  with  by  Mr.  Gordon,  it  seemed  to  have  most  relation 
to  agriculture,  especially  that  the  orchards  chiefly  referred  to,  and 
which  generally  have  got  into  such  a  deplorable  condition,  are  chiefly 
farm  orchards. 
It  may  aB  well  be  admitted  at  once  that  whatsoever  may  be  done  in 
relation  to  cider  production,  a  matter  somewhat  outside  horticulture,  by 
farmers,  it  is  utterly  useless  to  look  to  them  as  a  body  to  improve  fruit 
culture,  or  to  give  to  the  nation  those  immense  supplies  of  fruit  which 
are  so  much  needed,  if  it  is  hoped  or  purposed  to  displace  by  home¬ 
grown  produce  the  enormous  imports  of  hardy  fruit  from  other 
countries. 
Mr.  Gordon  had  his  axe  to  grind,  but  it  was  like  my  own,  a  most 
unselfish  one.  He  wishes  to  see  hardy  fruit  culture  all  over  the  kingdom 
made  into  a  living  reality,  because  he  is  a  gardener  and  has  a  gardener’s 
ideas  as  to  present  defects  and  how  they  should  be  remedied.  I  grind 
that  axe  too,  and  so  also,  I  think,  does  everyone  who  wishes  to  see  our 
Old  England  converted  into  a  great  fruit-producing  kingdom. 
But  there  was  at  the  meeting  yet  another  axe  to  be  ground,  for  that 
imperturbable  advocate  of  cider  (for  is  he  not  a  member  of  Parliament 
for  a  cider-making  division  of  Hereford  ?),  Mr.  Radcliffe  Cooke,  made  a 
long  speech  in  favour  of  cider — improvement  and  production.  That 
seemed  to  me  to  be  the  drawing  of  a  fishy  trail  across  the  object  Mr.  Gordon 
had  in  view.  Cider  may  have  its  interest  for  those  who  like  it,  but  it 
has  little  for  those  who  want  to  see  vast  quantities  of  fine  Apples  and 
Pears  grown  for  cooking  and  eating. 
The  next  axe  was  found  in  the  hands  of  a  gentleman  interested  in 
artificial  storage,  who  thought  that  through  such  agency  much  might  be 
done  to  extend  the  season  of  our  fruit  supply.  There  may  be  some¬ 
thing  in  it ;  but  if  cold  storage  means,  as  evidently  it  does,  that  the 
fruits  must  be  kept  in  a  very  low  temperature  for  a  long  time — then  we 
should  like  to  know  tnore  as  to  their  condition  of  flesh  and  flavour  before 
agreeing.  One  of  these  grinders  said  Apples  had  in  this  way  been  kept 
four  years.  It  would  have  been  interesting  to  ascertain  what  edible 
value  they  had  after  so  Ion?  keeping. 
Then  there  was  yet  the  Evaporator  with  his  axe,  and  he  thinks  much 
might  be  done  to  extend  our  Apple  supplies  by  evaporating  the  fruit. 
It  really  seemed  as  if  the  announcement  in  the  Press  of  this  particular 
paper  of  Mr.  Gordon’s  had  brought  together  a  fine  collection  of  axes, 
with  the  unfortunate  result  that  the  discussion  on  a  matter  of  the  very 
first  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation  drifted  off  into  side  issues, 
and  the  great  purpose  of  the  paper  was  overlooked.  That  was  perhaps  an 
almost  inevitable  result  of  the  reading  a  paper  to  an  audience  so  few 
of  which  had  any  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
It  is  bard  to  induce  persons  who  have  axes  to  grind,  that  in  this  case 
grindstones  are  not  required.  We  need  a  real  reaction  from  existing 
slovenly  and  ignorant,  practices  to  high-class  fruit  culture.  We  want 
fine  fruit  as  food  not  to  be  destroyed  in  any  process.  That  is  true 
pomology.  It  looks  even  now  as  if  some  fifty  years  woald  have  to  elapse 
ere  the  people  of  England  rise  to  the  situation. — A.  D. 
